A few years ago, MileSplit developed a data based number-cruncher system to rank cross country teams called "composite" team rankings. The rather complicated algorithm takes into account both cross country and track seasons, based on various categories and weights. It even indicates what the computer believes the biggest weakness is at this point.

Teams that did not have much of a track season or did not have at least four of their top distance runners out for track may see their scores drop. However, teams that busted it and looked great this past spring will show higher. Hopefully it is a good balance to predict who is strong coming in! It does not necessarily take into account any new freshman or transfers.

The score represents the team's weighted composite average rank across all categories. The highest column represents the highest ranking they received in a category, and conversely the lowest is the worst ranking they received in a category.

If you pull up the XC Team Scores page, you'll see a link to "Composite" scoring. This is a type of scoring that gives a team a rank on a number of different categories, with different weights on each:

XC 5K Team Rank (normal)

XC 5K 1-5 Split

XC 5K 1-5 Average

XC 5K 1-4 Rank (normal)

XC 5K 1-4 Split

XC 5K 1-4 Average

XC 5K 1-3 Split

XC 5K 1-2 Split

Outdoor 1600m Top 4 (normal)

Outdoor 1600m Top 4 Average

Outdoor 3200m Top 4 (normal)

Outdoor 3200m Top 4 Average

By using all of these factors and weighting them appropriately, we should get a really good and balanced idea of who are the best teams. This is especially designed for returning teams.